Explosion at Wisconsin corn mill kills 1, leaves 2 missing

PUBLISHED Thu, June 01, 2017 - 12:48am EDT

Credit: Molly Gursky

At least one person has been killed and two more remain missing after a large explosion caused a collapse at the Didion Milling plant in Cambria, officials in Columbia County say. About a dozen others have been injured. (more)

The incident happened at about 11 p.m. on Wednesday when a large explosion ripped through the Didion Milling Corn Mill, which is located on Williams Street in the town of Cambria, about 35 miles (57 kilometers) northeast of Madison.

The explosion was initially said to have occurred at an ethanol plant, but authorities later confirmed that it happened at the corn mill, where corn and corn by-products are processed for the ethanol plant which is just across the street.

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office confirmed on early Thursday morning that at least 1 people had been killed and about a dozen others were injured. There was no immediate word on the conditions of those injured, but many were said to have suffered burn injuries.

A total of 16 people were working at the corn mill when the explosion occurred, and authorities believe 2 of them remain missing.

Photos from the scene show that at least one building has collapsed as a result of the explosion. The emergency response was upgraded to a 4th alarm soon after the explosion and the Heavy Urban Rescue Team, as well as multiple air ambulances, were called to the scene.

The explosion also caused a number of power lines to fall, resulting in power outages in Cambria and the nearby village of Randolph. About 1,500 customers were without power at one point, but Alliant Energy reported just before 12:30 a.m. that power was restored for about 600 customers.